Johannesburg, 11 Feb 2014
Digital and litho printing company SE Litho has bought a Xerox 770 digital colour press from Digilogix, one of the largest Xerox concessionaires in South Africa, and Bytes Document Solutions, the authorised Xerox distributor in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The purchase has enabled SE Litho to substantially increase print on-demand and small-run colour work, boosting its profitability significantly.
"With the printing industry moving quickly towards digital print, the Xerox 770 is our stepping-stone to future growth," says Andrew Armstrong, of SE Litho. "The new press has allowed us to free up our four-colour Heidelberg GTO litho machine, and is even being put to work on colour jobs that we normally run from our Roland 300 five-colour litho press and our older Xerox DocuColor 252 production printers.
He says without the 770, SE Litho would have been unable to take on the many new jobs that are coming in. It produces about 1 000 duplex full-colour sheets in about an hour, which means the business can get a week of short-run litho work out in a day. "It's opened doors for us in a way we could not have imagined. We're using it for all smaller runs and variable data jobs."
Paul Haglich, marketing manager for production systems at Bytes Document Solutions, points out the Xerox 770 is Fogra certified, which means it adheres to ISO standards covering colour management and printing. "Businesses like SE Litho need to achieve constant and assured colour output as part of their overall successful business strategy," Haglich adds. "Easy-to-use colour management software from CMI and the Xerox 770 gives SE Litho a huge advantage when it comes to digital colour, helping them to retain and expand their customer base, without needing to invest in staff training."
"Because of the sharpness of the print, the 100% register on small type, and the dark blacks and bright colours, our customers love the look and feel," adds Armstrong. "On top of that, our customers prefer the quick lead times and quality. Some grey scales still look better on the bigger rolling power litho presses, but most of our clients are very happy with the digital jobs and the reduced cost."
The increased profitability SE Litho has achieved as a result of the 770 will be used to acquire further digital presses into the future, as the business starts to replace some of its litho machines. "We see the litho department shrinking and the digital department continuing to grow. Our plan for the future is to become a full-service digital commercial printer," Armstrong says.
"The Xerox 770 digital colour press offers a wide spectrum of automated colour management, media latitude and finishing options to help a business expand its creativity, productivity, and profitability in the digital print world," adds Haglich. "We're proud to be a partner of SE Litho, which celebrates its 111th birthday this year and is one of the oldest printers in the country to be registered with the Printing Industries Federation of South Africa."
Armstrong says the 24-hour or even same-day service delivery every time is what has cemented the business's relationship with the Xerox brand. "Both Bytes Document Solutions and Digilogix have made it their business to understand and work with our business. We began our move to digital with them, and they will continue to be part of the development of our digital journey."
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